You Cannot Kill David Arquette
Is it fair to question the reality we’re watching in David Darg and Price James’s entertaining, and moving, documentary about David Arquette’s return to wrestling? I think it’s more to the awareness of how professional wrestling is a scripted sport than not believing anything we see on-screen, because everything we’ve seen in terms of Arquette’s recent success in wrestling has been well documented, but you cannot help but wonder if the highs and lows of Arquette’s wrestling career, especially the lows, are played up to hold within our typical awareness of how underdog sports narratives work. Regardless, this is a fantastic piece of entertainment, that also takes us into the mind and heart of one of the most unusual character actors in recent memory.
I’m not sure if Arquette was ever destined to be anything more than a broad comedic supporting actor in movies- if you look at his performance in the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” movie (in which he is best friends with the late Luke Perry, whom he would be best friends with in real life), it’s hard to imagine him not being a sidekick, or silly leading man, in movies. That’s not a knock against him- I love his work in the “Scream” movies, and I’ll stick up for “Eight Legged Freaks” any time- and it’s good to be aware of your niche, and play into it. He probably did play into it too far, however, when his role in the wrestling comedy, “Ready to Rumble,” led to him getting in the ring for the first time. When he “won” the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, it was seen as a disgrace to the sport, pulling the mask off of what everyone knew about wrestling, but didn’t really acknowledge outright. I don’t know if it led to the self-image issues he would have afterwards, but it certainly didn’t help him in either his career as an actor, or in the sport that he loves.
Arquette is a magnetic presence- you just cannot help but be engaged with him in this film- and it’s sad to see that his professional life, whether as an actor or a wrestler, stalled after the WCW Championship. He did work as an actor afterwards, but certainly not on the same trajectory one might have expected for him after the “Scream” films. Seeing the life he’s built with his current wife, Christina, and hearing both her words and the words of his ex-wife, Courtney Cox, as well as brief interviews with sisters Patricia and Rosanna, we get a sense on the emotional toll it took on him, and so, his return to wrestling, which he genuinely loved, is as much about wanting to give himself a sense of identity as it is about doing something he loves. His road back is not an easy one, however; he has to get favors from people willing to bet on him, and he’s going to have to really get his body prepared for the beating he’s about to take, if he’s wanting to take it seriously. Seeing him on that road is inspiring and a lot of fun, especially when he succeeds. When he hits roadblocks along the way (like a brutal fight that leaves him hospitalized), it’s painful to watch, but it makes the highs so much more rewarding. By the end, we feel like he is a little bit closer to being whole again.
